


If he asked, I’d be his

by quigui



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pining, tumblr inspired ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-01
Packaged: 2018-01-21 09:04:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1545212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quigui/pseuds/quigui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'If he asked, I’d be his,' Stiles thinks, staring at Derek.<br/>'If he asked, I’d be his,' Derek thinks, as he watches Stiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If he asked, I’d be his

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this photoset](http://claudiastilinsk.tumblr.com/post/83656594356/if-he-asked-id-be-his) (and caption).
> 
> Originally posted on [my tumblr](http://quigui.tumblr.com/post/84240629375/if-he-asked-id-be-his-if-he-asked-id-be).  
> \---

_'If he asked, I’d be his,_ ' Stiles thinks, staring at Derek teaching Kira to use her Kitsune powers. If only Derek asked, hinted at, even.

"He is never going to ask, you know?" Scott surprised him, appearing by his side.

Stiles nods, looking down. He knows. Derek doesn't really want him. Not like Stiles wants him to.

"It will be a long time before he asks something for himself again," Scott muses. "Look at the last time. Ms. Blake turned out to be a crazy druid. And the time before that, he got a pack, and Erica and Boyd died, and he had an alpha pack after everyone. Even if he says he has found a purpose, he still hasn't done anything for himself. Just for himself, not to help the pack."

Stiles looks at Scott. That was a very different reasoning from his. It seemed almost like Scott thought Derek wanted Stiles.

"Give it time, bro, if you're not comfortable taking the first step. Or just dive in, you know? He might not ask, but he'll definitely answer."

\---

 _'If he asked, I’d be his,'_ Derek thinks, as he watches Stiles try to balance on top of a wall, Isaac pelting him with pieces of bread, Kira laughing and Scott making sure there are no injuries.

"He is never going to ask, you know?" Derek stiffens, as Lydia joins him in staring. He can't say he trusts Lydia, but he is accepting her as part of the pack. A pack that is increasingly less about werewolves. Once he figures out what to do about Peter he might relax around her.

He says nothing. He knows that Stiles won't ask. If he was ever going to, he would have already done it by now. He isn't shy. He isn't selfless, either. He is a mouthy kid that tells the world what he wants, and how he wants it. He just never expects to get it.

"Doesn't mean he doesn't want to. But he's never going to ask it, not directly. There are few things that scare Stiles. Getting heartbroken is one of those."

Derek looks at her, frowning, and she meets his eyes, defiantly.

"Look, he got his big crush at 9. He nursed that crush for nearly 8 years, without any luck. And then suddenly he was noticing other people. He was noticing, but not doing anything about it. Unless they took the first step." She looks at the group again, Stiles flat on his ass, glaring at Isaac. "I might have broken him," she adds, in a whisper.

And Derek hears what was unsaid, 'I might have broken him before I got to really know him'. Derek doesn't know what to add to that. He doesn't agree, but he sees the logic of it.

"But you could ask. It's not like you don't know he wants you. You can smell it. According to Scott you are so in tune with his emotions it's almost sickening. You're both so hung up on what might go wrong, that you don't ever expect it to go right."

He wants to tell her it's just lust he senses from Stiles, but that is a lie. There is a hint of warmth underneath the lust, like that of a blanket left in the sun, that of hot cocoa in a summer night, that of finding a hand that fits perfectly into his. But it's so fleeting, so intangible that he never believes it's there.

"Don't overthink it. Leave that to Stiles," she tells him, joining the group to put a stop to Isaac's and Stiles' bickering.

\---

He isn't sure how they got to be alone on Derek's flat. Scott had been there, but Kira had called. Isaac had left saying he had a thing. He didn't even notice Lydia leave. And he can count on one hand only the times he had been alone with Derek since the whole Nogitsune thing. He hadn't been avoiding Derek. Derek hadn't been avoiding anyone. It was just… a time for pack, and not for alone time, Stiles supposes.

But now here they are, watching the setting sun from the sofa, Derek drinking a beer, Stiles with a coke ( _'Don't even try it, Stiles. Your dad is the sheriff.' ' My dad thinks you're great, Derek, he would forgive you for giving me beer.' 'No, he wouldn't. He would get wolfsbane from Argent.' 'Yeah, he would.'_ ).

They sit in silence, but it feels awkward. Stiles remembers the conversation with Scott, but instead talks about college. "I decided on which university I'll go to." Derek makes a noncommittal sound that can mean anything. "It's close by. I figured I had to keep an eye on my dad. And Scott is going there too. We can commute together, this way."

"You are staying in Beacon Hills?" Derek sounded surprised.

"Yeah."

"Don't you want to experience the dorm life? The frat parties? The easy access to alcohol? You know, in a place your dad isn't the sheriff."

"I'll probably get some of that. I'm staying here, not becoming a hermit. Scott and I were thinking of getting a place together."

"That's good."

"Scott is actually thinking in getting a big place. Invite Isaac too. And Kira, if she stays here."

"He wants the pack close. It's normal, it's part of being an alpha. It will help him feel at home in a new place."

"You're pack too," Stiles says, not daring to ask Derek to live with them too.

"The point of leaving home is not to have adult supervision," Derek points out.

"Are you staying in Beacon Hills at all? Or are you leaving again?"

"I'm here to stay. Beacon Hills needs a pack to protect it. And Scott needs help becoming an alpha. I can at least teach him what not to do."

"You weren't so bad."

"You don't really have much of a comparison, Stiles."

"You were better than Peter. You were better than Deucalion. Actually, you were way better than any of the alphas on the alpha pack. Scott is only catching up to you now. So there, you are tied on first spot with Scott. I could get you a mug saying 'Best Alpha' and it would be true."

Derek chuckles. "Does that mean I can get you a mug saying 'Best human of the pack'?"

"You think I'm the best human? That's so swee- wait, I'm the only human!"

Derek is now laughing, and it's such a good sound, although there is an underlying pain of being the only human left. "If it's any consolation, you're also tied with Scott on number one member of the pack."

"I am? Wait, is that payback to not giving you the first place all to yourself?"

"No. Scott is…"

"Hey, you don't have to wax Scott's fine qualities to me. I know them all. And then some."

"Scott is the little brother that I wished I had instead of Cora. Cora always ganged up on me with Laura."

"Well, you'll get to play big brother now."

They fall into silence again, until Stiles can't hold it any longer. "What about me? Why am I at the top of the list? Ahead of Isaac who was your beta."

Derek doesn't answer right away, and appears to be thinking. "Because I love you," he simply says.

Stiles is surprised, and knows there is no way to hide it from Derek. But he still plays it nonchalantly, leaning into Derek's arm and taking his hand, "Oh. Me too."

They sit in silence, holding hands, watching the last rays of sunlight disappear. 

Stiles breaks the silence. "Hey, would you be mine, if I asked?"

"Only if you would be mine too."


End file.
